1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pain comforter system and more particularly to a system with a line for feeding pain relieving medication from a source to a needle inserted in the patient with means to sense the temperature of the patient and the concentration of the medication and to initiate or terminate the feeding of the medication as a function of the sensed condition.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of pain comforter systems is known in the prior art. More specifically, pain comforter systems heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of relieving pain are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
In this respect, the pain relieving system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of relieving pain in response to sensed conditions and under the control of the physician and patient.
For example, medication injecting systems utilizing gravity for the establishment of a saline line are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,465,471 to Harris; 4,915,688 to Bischof; and 4,973,328 to Smith. None of these systems are controlled by a computer or modified in response to changing conditions of the medication concentration or patient temperature. U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,757 to Grandadam discloses apparatus for inserting pain relieving medication to a patient but it has no controls whatsoever. U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,253 to Ridgway discloses the providing of medication but such providing of medication is done orally. Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,451,253 to Harman discloses the injecting of solid medication through a device similar to a hypodermic needle but having no controls whatsoever.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for new and improved pain comforter systems. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.